In the final of our group previews ahead of Friday’s kick-off, we take a look at the World Cup chances of Chile, Honduras, Spain and Switzerland. Spain are clear group favourites, as well as one of the favourites for the whole tournament, although they will need to hit the ground running to secure their passage through with the ease expected, whilst the battle for the second qualification spot appears to be relatively open.
CHILE LOOK TO BETTER ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE CLASS OF ‘98
Chile haven’t made an appearance at the World Cup finals since 1998, when Marcelo Salas, Ivan Zamarano and co. made a real impression on the world stage. Back then, Chile made the second round where they succumbed 4-1 to Brazil in spite of a spritely opening. The current vintage will be looking to go one better although ironically may come unstuck by the fact that, if as expected they finish second in the group behind Spain, their second round opponents would again likely be the Brazilians. Whilst there is a lot of football to be played before that eventuality comes to pass, revenge will be at the back of Chilean minds.
Coach Marcelo Bielsa has moulded a young and attack-minded side who looked strong in qualification, having booked their place at the tournament automatically by finishing runners up in the South American group, just one point behind Brazil. A meticulous student of the game, Bielsa has benefited from a break from the game following his previous tenure with Argentina, and he will be hoping to deliver glory for Chile with a 3-3-1-3 formation, the success of which has much to do with the form and fitness of Matias Fernandez who pulls the strings just behind the front three.
Bielsa will be sweating on the fitness of front man Humberto Suazo, who scored 10 goals in qualifying but has been injured in Chile’s preparations for the tournament. Concerns also exist around a somewhat shaky back four, although goalkeeper Claudio Bravo looks like a safe pair of hands. Should they secure maximum points in their opening games against Honduras and Switzerland, and Spain do the same, the final group fixture in Pretoria between the two could be a mouth watering prospect. There is some hard work to do first against two defence minded sides, but Chile are well equipped to cause an upset.
HONDURAN PROGESS DEPENDENT ON TACTICAL APPROACH AND FORM OF KEY PERSONNEL
Those looking to spot a familiar face or two in the Honduras side won’t be disappointed, with Wilson Palacios, Maynor Figueroa and Hendry Thomas all plying their trade in the Premier League. Striker David Guazo is another who plays his football in one of Europe’s top leagues, the Internazionale striker having turned out for Benfica on loan last season. Beyond that however, and the side are a relatively unknown quantity whose preparations for the tournament have been hindered by injury, and they may lack the quality to progress from the group.
This will be the Hondurans first appearance at the World Cup finals since 1982, having qualified automatically, although somewhat fortuitously, thanks to the USA managing a 94th minute equaliser against Costa Rica thus allowing Los Catrachos to claim third sport in the Concacaf group. During this campaign, coach Reinaldo Rueda showed he was prepared to tactically adapt to the circumstances, tending to play 4-4-2 with veteran Carlos Pavon playing up front with Guazo, switching to 4-5-1 in away fixtures to include an extra defensive midfielder alongside Thomas and Palacios.
It remains to be seen therefore how Rueda will approach the opening game with Chile, a fixture which may well decide the second qualifying spot. Injuries to Palacios and Guazo during the Hondurans warm up schedule have hardly been ideal, although Rueda will have faith in his team’s resolve in the absence of his key men, as highlighted by the 1-0 victory over El Salvador in qualification without the suspended Maynor Figueroa. The feeling remains however, that whilst the team have the potential to exceed expectations, a place in the last sixteen may prove to be a step too far on this occasion.
SPAIN AIM TO OVERCOME RIGOURS OF DOMESTIC SEASON AND JUSTIFY FAVOURITES TAG
Where do you start with this Spanish side? They’ve won 33 of their last 34 competitive matches, they come into the World Cup as reigning European champions, they won all ten of their qualifying matches scoring 28 goals while conceding only five, and are managed by a man who has two European Cups to his name. Having shaken off their underachievers tag at Euro 2008, Vincente Del Bosque’s side will be seeking to replicate their winning ways on the world stage and justifiably enter the tournament as favourites alongside Brazil. Will the burden of expectation prove too much for them however?
Spain’s team is laden with talent in every position and hardly need any introduction. A consistently world class goalkeeper in Iker Casillas, a defence strengthened by the outstanding recent form of Gerard Pique, a world class central midfield axis of Xavi and Andres Iniesta, outstanding wingers in the form of David Silva and Jesus Navas, and the formidable strike pairing of Fernando Torres and David Villa. If you wanted to pick holes in the side then you would probably point to defence with Carlos Puyol’s lack of pace and aerial presence and a lack of positional discipline on the part of Sergio Ramos.
However, of more pressing concern to Del Bosque will be the need to keep his squad fresh and injury free, after a lengthy season in which all of its members were involved in rigorous domestic and European campaigns. There are already areas of concern over the speed of Torres’s recovery from his knee operation, as well as Xavi’s return from injury. However, if they survive the group stage without sustaining further injury and manage to negotiate a potential second round grudge match against Portugal, they look well placed to go all the way. Spain is expecting nothing less however, something unlikely to work in their favour.
HITZFELD’S TACTICAL ASTUTENESS MAY NOT BE ENOUGH FOR SWITZERLAND TO PROGRESS
The managerial achievements of Otmar Hitzfeld command respect: seven Bundesliga titles and two European Cups with two different sides tell their own story. Now in the twilight of his career, Hitzfeld faces one of his biggest challenges as he seeks to coax the best out of what looks like a relatively poor Switzerland side. As you might expect from a team who have hardly lit up previous tournaments with their champagne football, solidity is the key to their game and any success will be down to hard work and discipline. They will also require some good fortune if they stand any chance of progressing from the group.
One of their major downfalls could be their lack of any standout players. Most will probably have heard of striker Alexander Frei before, but the Swiss will principally be looking to Nurnberg’s Albanian born Albert Bunjaku for their goals. In a Bundesliga side which struggled to find the net this season, Bunjaku scored in 12 of his 32 appearances and looks like one of the only genuinely exciting prospects for Switzerland. Beyond this, they will be looking to men out of form with their club this season, such as Phillippe Senderos and the perennially transfer linked Gokhan Indler of Udinese.
Switzerland did the unthinkable in qualification and lost 2-1 to Luxembourg, and they will be hoping that their bogey result is out of the way for this campaign. Five straight wins followed this shameful defeat, with subsequent home and away victories over Greece, and qualification secured with a hard fought 0-0 draw against Israel. The signs therefore are that they could be a difficult side to breakdown and defeat and under Hitzfeld they certainly won’t be guilty of showing any tactical naivety. That alone is unlikely to be enough however, and it would be no surprise to see a lacklustre Swiss side heading home early.
Richard Bourne
TweetLike this article? Please like The Football Blog on Facebook: